Commander Alexander Wilson was a dour looking man with bags under his eyes. His hair was greying and he wasn’t in the mood to be dealing with a hostage crisis. He was leaning on a console in the ops room of the George Washington. The militants that had kidnapped the women after attacking the UN convoy transporting them had retreated to a compound in their so-called independent state that used to be one of Kenya’s provinces. By special request of the UN Security Council, they were standing by to rescue the women once they had enough intel on the compound. He rubbed his eyes and looked back at the screen. The Seal team was on the spot for the op. George Washington was the closest ship to the warzone. He watched another guard go down on the thermals.
“What the fuck are they doing down there? Get the team lead on comms.”
“Aye Sir.”
“Sigma Team you do not have the go order yet, what are you doing?”
“Sigma team hasn’t engaged. All team members are still in position awaiting go order.”
“Then tell me what the fuck is going on, I just watched two…three guards go down. Nothing on thermals, who else has thermal camo?”
“Stand by, will get visual.”
Commander Wilson tapped his fingers on the console. He watched another two guards go down quickly. He silently wondered if it was the Russians or Chinese who had claimed they had no ability to assist and were trying to score a media win with a miraculous rescue of a few innocents.
“Sigma Team do you have that intel yet?”
“Negative. Getting into position.”
“Hurry up.”
“Have a visual now. Having trouble with uplink. One target. Size indicates female. No weapons fire. She’s doing silent take downs. Looks like she’s snapping their necks.”
“Is she showing up on thermals.”
“Negative, visuals only, she’s fast.”
“Who the fuck is she, why is she there.”
“She just jumped off the wall, we’ve lost visual.”
“Keep reporting. The drone’s night vision is offline.”
“Just saw muzzle flare in the windows. They know she’s there. Still no direct visual.”
Commander Wilson sighed.
“Open a channel to fleet command.”
“Aye Sir. Admiral Taylor is awaiting your report.”
“Admiral Taylor.”
“Commander Wilson, I have the joint chiefs here. What’s the status, do you have enough intel to begin the operation?”
“Negative Admiral. We had some hardware malfunctions. Another party has engaged the compound.”
“Do we know who they are?”
“No, we do not have any intel on who they are. They have thermal camo. Looks like a small team. They have actively engaged the hostiles. Sir, can I give the team permission to engage?”
“Do you think it is another militant faction?”
“No sir, whoever it is special forces. They don’t have that kind of skill level, or bank roll.”
“Then maintain operation readiness but do not engage. We’re not sending our men in blind.”
“Sir, the hostages may be killed, their entrance was silent, but they have engaged with gunfire now.”
“Our men’s safety is the priority here commander. Get as much surveillance as you can. But do not engage.”
“Understood sir. I will keep you updated.”
Commander Wilson kicked his chair.
“Sigma team, maintain operational readiness, but do not engage. You are not a go. Maintain surveillance and send video feed when you can.”
“Message received and understood.”
Several more minutes passed.
“Sigma Team to Ark.”
“Ark here Sigma Team.”
“We have observed sniper fire on the compound and on reinforcements that were approaching on the road. Anti-material, took two engines out then several hostiles.”
“Do you have a location on the source of the fire?”
“Looks like a cube van.”
“Do you have visual on the sniper?”
“Yes, same as the one in the compound, showing up in visuals, but not thermals. Also, female.”
“Can you make out the rifle?”
“Negative, visuals are two low rez, we are sending drones.”
“Any improvement with those video feeds?”
“Tech says soon.”
“Understood. Maintain surveillance do not engage unless you are engaged. Ark Out.”
Commander Wilson crossed his arms and began to pace. A couple of minutes later the video feed started populating. One of the mini-drones was over the sniper and zooming in on the rifle. The computer scanned it and came up with an identification. It was a Canadian weapon anti-tank sniper rifle. Built for punching through armor and killing the driver.
“What the fuck are the Canadians doing there?”
“They could be mercenaries sir.”
“As soon as you get her face you send it for an ID.”
“Aye sir.”
The sniper pulled in the rifle and hoped in the cab of the truck. The drone couldn’t get a visual of her face still. The cube van drove on the road and passed the remains of the reinforcements. And backed up to the gate. The driver had a ball cap on and was hiding her face. Like she knew the drone was there. Visuals form the drones showed eleven targets evacuating the compound. The gates opened and they got in the back.
“Admiral Taylor, the unknown assailants have exfiltrated the hostages onto a cube van are escaping now. We see more hostiles are on route, a couple of modified pickup trucks and an armored vehicle. We have identified at least two rpgs. Should we provide assistance?”
“Is the drone armed?”
“Yes sir, two ASM’s.”
“You have authorization to engage the hostile convoy. If the hostages are at risk Sigma Team may engage.”
“Understood Sir.”
“Sigma team. You are a go. Protect the hostages. We have been cleared hot for drone support.”
“Understood.”
“Flight team take out that armored vehicle.”
“Sir the armored vehicle is already taken out.”
“Sigma team did you have visual on weapons fire on the armored vehicle?”
“Ark, we didn’t see any weapons fire. It just went flying off the road.”
“Roll back the drone footage.”
Commander Wilson watched on the screen. One of his analysts pointed.
“There sir, look, it was one of the women from the truck.”
Commander Wilson stared at the screen. And kept repeating the scene. She jumped out of the moving Cube van and flickered out of existence then she appeared beside the Armored vehicle and shoulder checked it sending it careening off the road and rolling four times. The pickup trucks had high caliber machine guns. They tore into the woman but she didn’t slow down. Without losing a beat she proceeded to tear a wheel off of a pickup truck and tossed it through front window of the other and it ran out of control and smashed into a tree. Then she vanished and appeared back in the cube van.
“Sigma Team. Do not engage, I repeat do not engage. Hostile vehicles have been neutralized.”
“Acknowledged Ark, standing down.”
Commander Wilson rubbed his eyes again and sat down. He stared at the repeating video.
“I do not want to write up the report for this one.”
*****
A figure with camo on her face and clad in black combats climbed up the wall of the compound. It wasn’t exactly well built. Boards and cargo containers. There was barbed wire, but it couldn’t pierce her flesh. She ignored the minor annoyance of it. She slipped over the top and kept to the shadows wrapping them around her she spotted her first target. He was smoking a cigarette and had his AK-47 strapped over his shoulder. She bit him in the neck and drank him dry she tossed him over the wall into the ground below on the outside of the compound. She slipped back into the shadows and pulled out her combat knife. Her second target had nightvision binoculars in front of his eyes. Even with them he wouldn’t have noticed the invisible vampire about to pounce. She brought her knife up and cut his throat deeply, preventing any noise from getting out of his throat and tossed him over the wall. And so, she went silently dispatching another eight men, none of which had a chance against the immortal huntress in their midst. She’d been killing since she was barely out of childhood, her vampiric gifts had just made it easier. She finally made the first sound after entry into the compound.
“You see any more on thermal?”
“Wall’s clear mom.”
“I’m heading inside.”
“Be careful.”
“Never.”
The woman jumped down and landed silently in the earth of the compound. She slipped across the grounds. She quickly placed charges on the hinges of the gate.
“Charges are up.”
“No signs of any movement outside. We have a drone though. Should I take it out mom?”
“No need, they won’t know what’s happening until it’s too late.”
The black figure pushed on the door popping the lock and saw a single figure sitting at a table over a bowl of noodles. She slammed her knife down on the back of his neck it should have gone right through his spine and killed him instantly. It didn’t the knife exploded into fragments some hitting the man.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
What the fuck?
The momentary confusion on her part left her vulnerable. He grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the concrete wall of the building it cracked with the force and so did her bones. They started mending immediately but were shattered once again as she was slammed into the opposite wall with a toss from the man. She struggled to get up, but her spine was still healing.
“Thermal in the first room hit it with a full clip.”
Concrete fragments flew everywhere furniture was shredded and the bullets did little to slow him down. Two of the militants had rushed in guns ready and were cut down by the high caliber armor piercing rounds. She’d asked for tank busters, and they didn’t disappoint but the concrete slowed them down that whatever this thing was barely noticed them. The distraction was enough though. She was on her feet, and she leapt at him her fist impacting him in the face. The force of the blow made him stumble backwards but the bones in her hand were liquified. His cheek was a bit red, and he looked surprised as he rubbed it gingerly. She suddenly came under assault by two more rifles. She dove for cover.
“Two thermals by the door are hostiles.”
More rounds punched through the concrete and the two rifle wielding militants went down. The man who was still standing there looked down at the Enid. He was not overly large but compared to the five-foot-tall teenager in front of him he was a monster.
“I’m going to have fun with you, looks like I can do it rough.”
“Seriously? Is that the first thing that jumps to your mind? You’re going to rape me? Thank you, that’s going to make this easy.”
She pulled out Bloodseeker.
“I have one too.”
She rolled her eyes and slowed time. He wouldn’t notice as the blade slid through his chest without resistance. By the time he knew what had happened he was screaming. This part always bothered her; His essence crackled into the blade it was an odd blue lightning. Usually it was red, rarely it was purple for undead, but this was entirely new. His screams echoed against the concrete walls and within a few minutes his desiccated remains fell off the blade. He looked mummified, every ounce of vitality from the body was gone leaving a shell. She felt the power that had dwelled in him flowing into her body. The blood was electric in her veins as her sword transferred it to her.
“I have no idea what that was but it’s down. Going in further.”
“We have company. I’m going to take out their engines when they get in range and cut them down, but we can assume more resistance is on its way after them.”
“Once you deal with them get ready to pick us up.”
She kicked the next set of doors in, it looks like they had interrupted dinner. Abandoned plates were scattered all over the place. She could smell more of the militants, but she couldn’t see them, but their locations soon became apparent as four popped up and unloaded their clips into her. She lunged at the nearest when they were reloading and pulled out her pistol, using him as cover she killed two before they could get reloaded the other one hesitated as the one she was holding struggled and begged for his life at least that is what it sounded like she was did not understand African dialects. The other one dropped his weapon. She shot him in the head then put the gun to the head of the one she was holding.
“English, where are the women you grabbed?”
His kept babbling and pointed at a rug. She pulled the trigger and dropped his body. She moved over to the rug and yanked it. A grate was in the floor she looked down and could see shapes moving below. A rope latter was attached to a wall, and she tossed it down.
“Its safe you can come up.”
She kneeled reaching down and pulling the first girl out. She was maybe seven years old. She did the same with several others telling each in turn.
“Run straight through that door then the other one outside don’t look at anything else but the door way hon.”
She didn’t expect them not to look but at least she could try to shield them. Finally, the older women started coming up. Four in all. There were gasps and a few screams. Enid hadn’t been exactly gentle, or merciful in her fight to rescue them. None seemed to recognize her from her interviews but soon they would put two and two together.
“Hurry through that door and out the front. The children are waiting.”
Enid followed the nuns after making sure no one else was down in the pit. By the time she arrived the nuns were doing their best to console the children. Enid motioned them follow her behind a truck. She crouched with the group.
“Okay kids cover your ears this going to be loud.”
She waited until they had done what they were told.
“Blowing the gates”
She pressed the button on the detonator and the charges she’d placed on the hinges exploded and the metal gate slammed to the ground.
“Okay girls, let’s go.”
She scooped up two of the children and motioned for the nuns to do the same. She ran to the truck and Eyre was waiting there with the back open she put the girls down on the bed of the truck.
“Strap in, it might be rough. There’s food and water. You might hear more noise but don’t worry you’ll be safe in here.”
She helped the nuns in and pulled the gate down and ran to the front and got in the passenger side, Eyre got in the driver side and slammed the truck into gear and the tires spun and the truck shot up the road.
“Mom, you’re covered in blood.”
“I just attacked a building full of people with assault rifles, what were you expecting?”
“You can move so fast..”
“No, technically I just make everything move slower. It’s not exactly a cheap transaction.”
“But it uses up energy to heal too, doesn’t it?”
“I cannot believe I’m having this conversation with an eight-hundred-year-old vampire. Healing is the easiest to do. Lessons over there are more coming. Just keep driving I’ll deal with them.”
Enid jumped out of the door and began running bending time to her will. She charged up the road and shoulder checked the lead vehicle. It was an armored vehicle. Between its speed and her expert hit she sent it rolling off the road. She ripped a tire off the next vehicle and shoved it with her palm sending it rolling down the embankment and threw the tire at the next vehicle sending the already out of control truck into a tree off the side of the road. She waited and leapt onto the cube van and got in the passenger seat. She picked up the sniper rifle and hung out the side of the truck taking aim at the drone that was tracking them she shot it twice and spiraled out of control into the ground and exploded. She slid back in and put the gun down.
“Why’d you do that for?”
“It would have tracked us back to our plane. We’ll be in the air and can land at the airport we were supposed to land at and refuel then go onto Italy.”
“Won’t they just track us from there?”
“No, we had a planned trip to that airport. We can just say we were delayed.”
*****
“What happened to the drone feed?”
“We lost the drone, sir.”
“Show me the last visual.”
The commander watched as the passenger in the cube leaned out and shot the drone with the anti-material rifle, and made it look easy. He yelled at the flight team.
“You couldn’t do some evasive maneuvers?”
“Sir, we throught she was just firing wild, there’s no way she could hit it.”
“Well, she did, twice.”
He pounded the console with his fist.
“Get me satellite feed asap.”
“We have twenty minutes before we have an available window.”
Commander Wilson growled.
*****
“Ark, compound is cleared of hostiles. We’re gathering intel.”
Commander Wilson along with the joint chiefs were watching as Sigma Team explored the compound. He turned away when he saw the desiccated remains of one of the militants. The ones outside the wall had been clean kills here whoever came in just used brute force. They could clearly identify entry points for the sniper’s bullets.
“Sigma Team, get samples from the desiccated corpse, and get a better-quality picture of those cracks. Also get some laser scans for VR reconstruction. Get some samples of the blood. The torch the compound and destroy the vehicles.”
“Ark, it looks like a person was slammed into the wall here. We pulled out bone fragments fabric and blood.”
“Any signs of non-militant casualties?”
“No, but we found broken parts of some sort of weapon. And a hilt. Looks like a combat knife, looks like it shattered.”
“Get samples of everything you can and keep the video feed going.”
*****
Enid watched the cube van drive off then boarded the plane. She taxied and took off; The flight was only about ten minutes and she landed at their actual listed destination. She used the opportunity to go to the passenger compartment of the plane. Eyre was already using the kitchen to preparing food for their guests. Mariana was speaking to one of the adults. Enid nodded as she passed and went into her private room and got changed into a black turtleneck and a pair of blue jeans. She washed her face and hands off scrubbing the dried blood out between her fingers and from under her nails. She pulled the crucifix on that Mariana had given her for Christmas. As she left her private room, she felt a hand grab her arm.
“Excuse me, but where are you taking us, we’re still in Kenya aren’t we?”
“Yes, and I’m flying you to Rome.”
“Rome? Why?”
“You’ve all been granted sanctuary by Vatican City.”
“You’re from the church?”
“Indirectly. Look sister, I don’t have much time. We’re just stopping here to refuel. I need to go make sure the plane is flight worthy before we take off. You and your charges are safe here. Use this time to get comfortable and get some sleep. I’m sure someone at the Vatican can explain better than I will be able too.”
She nodded but didn’t let go of Enid’s arm.
“I don’t know who you are but thank you for risking your life to save us.”
“Don’t thank me sister, thank God. He’s the reason I was there.”
The sister let go of Enid’s arm and disembarked the plane and did her walk around. Dusty but otherwise looked flight worthy. She spoke to a Kenyan official and signed some paperwork handing the clipboard back with a thick envelope under the clip.
“Looks like everything is in order here. Have a safe flight.”
Enid nodded and gave a wave before getting back on the plane. The flight to Rome was much shorter; Just over six hours. She dimmed the cabin lights and let the passengers get some sleep. Mariana came up and joined her near the end of the flight.
“Enid, did you kill anyone last night?”
“Yes.”
“You know that is wrong. I have seen you do it before and you seem to not be bothered by it. Every time you take a life it takes part of your goodness away. You should confess.”
“Mariana, I don’t feel guilty about most of the people I have killed. I have no reason to confess.”
“You have no guilt about taking lives?”
Her hand went to her crucifix. Pale fingers tracing it as they had so many times before.
“No, I have no illusions about who and what I am. I try to avoid taking lives, but the fact remains some people just need to die for the human race as a whole to survive.”
“You cannot make that judgment.”
“Usually, I do not. Last night is on God. He told me to be his avenging angel and that he didn’t care what happened to the militants.”
“That does not sound like God.”
“It sounds a lot like the God I know from the Old Testament.”
“But the commandments say…”
“They’re nice guidelines. Look Mariana, you don’t have the benefit of living through two thousand years of human history and experiencing the black death, the great war, World War Two, nuclear detonations. Nazi death camps, Nazi firing squads. I’m so used to humans killing and being killed when one I don’t know dies, I have little ability to feel empathy for them, whether I pulled the trigger or not.”
“Then why bother saving them at all.”
“Just because I don’t feel anything when one of them dies doesn’t mean I want it to happen. Look I do what I can, when I can. Its like you with your ghosts, you can’t save all of them, and if you cared about each and every one, you’d go mad. It’s the same with me: I make the difference I can and do let the rest go.”
“We have power, we can make a difference.”
“Where do we draw the line? At what point do decide it’s too far?”
“Well, we could stop abortions, war…”
“So, you want to use your power to press your morality on everyone else?”
“Well no.”
“That’s exactly what you just asked for, Mariana. The only way to stop the humans from killing each is to kill all the humans. They don’t know how to behave civilly as a group. Things will be peaceful for a while then someone gets greedy and then millions die. And what do you think they would do if they realized there were immortals among them? Feeding on their blood. They would hunt us down, for the secrets of the power we hold, not for the good of humanity, oh they would say it is, but it’s for power. Humans will always crave power. Even your Catholic Church has bishops jockeying for position trying to be the next pope, for power. It is the one human need that can never be satiated and what do most of them do when they get power? They try to get more. What happens if someone threatens that power? They will fuck anyone over they can to keep it, murdering if necessary. How do we put a leash on that? The best we can do is stop them from killing all life on the planet which we’ve done time and again. I doubt they would thank us for it if they knew.”
“Not everyone is that way.”
“You might be right, but the ones who get power are never the ones who are going to use it responsibly. You should see the Pugmentia. Drunk with power, and even than they have to fight backstab, bicker, break any law they need to be top of the pile of trash.”
“But you used to be human, and you do not use your power in that way.”
“I’m constantly tempted, Of course I think I could remake this world into something glorious, but then I would be just like the humans, top of the pile, scared someone is going to topple my house of cards. No, our best policy is the one your father put in place, stay out of their way unless they risk our safety.”
“Then why did you rescue those people at the back of the plane? Why did you interfere with the problem in Edmonton? Why did you go on those videos?”
“Last night was God telling me to do it, Edmonton was the lesser of two evils, pretend to be a superhero or risk a pugmentia ripping someone’s throat out live all over the internet. The videos were just more of that last one.”
“He was not a vampire.”
“I know that now. Still the humans are incapable of handling something like that, or the one I ran into last night.”
“There was one there last night?”
“Yes, my knife shattered when I tried to kill him. Then he slammed me into a wall and tossed me like a rag doll. I punched him with every bit of my strength, and I basically gave him a bruise and turned my fist into a mushy mess. I finally had to use Bloodseeker on him.”
“What is bloodseeker?”
“It is a very evil sword, and it has served me well, but I hate using it, I understand now how terrible it is.”
“So, you destroyed is immortal soul?”
“Yes.”
Mariana crossed herself.
“Don’t look at me that way, God gave the sword to father, who gave it to me, and he knows I have it, it’s on him. He knew there was a whatever they are there.”
“You cannot blame God for your actions.”
“I can when he sent me there with the words: ‘Be my avenging angel’. Doesn’t leave much room for doubt, does it?”
Mariana crossed herself again and kept stroking her crucifix. She walked to the back of the cabin without another word. Enid ran her fingers through her hair with a heavy sigh and put her set back on and started an inflight phone call to a number that had been provided to her. The line picked up.
“Hello.”
“Hello, my name is Sarah, I understand I was supposed to call this line and let you know I have Sister Mary Conte on my plane, along with the surviving sisters of the Sacred Mother Orphanage, and the girls who they were with.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line and finally the man continued to speak, he sounded breathless.
“Are they alright?”
“None of them were harmed, we have a doctor who checked them over, and they seem in good health, if a bit hungry and dehydrated. I’m going to be landing at the Ciampino airport in Italy in about an hour. I am hoping you can arrange transportation for the sisters and the girls and take care of the Italian authorities?”
“Sì, sì, err yes.”
Enid switched to Italian to make things easier. The waver to his voice made him sound quite nervous.
“It’s alright I’m fluent in Italian. Flight is VQ-B X032.”
“Will you be accompanying them?”
“Yes, along with a couple of others, if that is alright.”
“Yes, of course you’re all welcome the Holy Father will want to meet you and thank you personally.”
“Thank you. We will see you soon.”
Enid hung up the call and checked her instruments over again.